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From 1996 to 1999 Philadelphia’s Ink & Dagger burned like a roman candle, blurring the lines between punk, hardcore, and psychedelia, an enigma wrapped in rumors, vampire lore, and blood-spattered theatrics. Equal parts chaos and prank, their ever-shifting all-star lineup fed on the energy of others and spit it back out as something entirely their own.
Controversial, influential, and long out of print, their complete legacy has finally risen again. Trust Records is proud to announce their partnership with Ink & Dagger to reissue their entire discography via three stand alone LPs: Drive This Seven Inch Wooden Stake Through My Philadelphia Heart, The Fine Art of Original Sin and Ink & Dagger. All audio was painstakingly remastered by David Cooley (M83, Tame Impala, Jimmy Eat World). Each of the three albums will be in stores and available across digital platforms for the first time ever on October 31.
In addition, a deluxe edition box set titled Ink & Dagger: The Complete Works has been announced. This version includes the three stand alone albums, plus a fourth LP titled Experiments in Nocturnal Sound and Energy: Singles 96-99. Writer Erik Bader authored the insert / book, titled ‘The Almighty’. The box set was designed by visual artist Jeremy Dean and is limited to 500 copies.
In celebration, Ink & Dagger have shared the remastered audio for revered single “Full Circle” alongside a video directed by Brian Balchak which includes unseen footage by Joe Burns and images from the box set’s book.
In 1996 Philadelphia hardcore stalwarts Sean McCabe (Crud is a Cult, Mandela Strike Force) and Don Devore (Frail, The Icarus Line, The Lilys) drew up a maniacal manifesto for a new kind of band, a century-ending statement that would push underground music beyond the confines of genre and into something completely new.
It was to be an unholy marriage of punk and hardcore that blended theatrics, mischief, and occult mystique, launched through a coercive campaign of misinformation and misdirection. They mixed myth and metaphor, presenting rock & roll as a psychic vampire that obtained immortality by stealing energy and making it their own.
Their ranks were filled out by an ever-rotating cast of Philadelphia’s finest, including members of Guilt, Prema, Frail, Dave Wagenschutz (Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, Paint it Black), Gregg Foreman (Delta 72, Cat Power), Eric Wareheim (Elements of Need, Tim & Eric), Josh Brown (Crud is a Cult, Lenola), and Jennifer Layne Park.
For four years they operated tirelessly, from the chaotic blister of their first 7” records, the frenetic sleaze of their first LP, to the dense psychedelic swirl of their final posthumous album.
During what was supposed to be a temporary hiatus for the band, frontman Sean McCabe died in 2000 at the tragic age of 27. As in life, so in death, the story was forever shrouded in mystery, putting an unfinished capstone to a short-lived but brightly burning legacy that never faded.
For decades the band and their long out of print discography existed only as legend, prized by collectors and shared among enthusiasts. Tales of their decadent, debauched tours continued to circulate like sinister scripture.
Their lasting impact continues to reverberate; they remain a band’s band. That legacy lives on within every single individual who was privy to witness their incendiary performances. Those who were there were forever changed. An incredibly disparate bevy of bands were launched directly as a result; bands as notable as American Nightmare, Thursday, The Murder City Devils, Botch, AFI, and My Chemical Romance have all cited Ink & Dagger as a core influence.
The shock and awe of Ink & Dagger’s bloodthirsty barrage is as relevant today as it ever has been. A caustic keystone of hardcore history, these re-releases present a portal to the past, while continuing to pave the way forward into a wilder, more feral future.
